Resistance To Civil Government Essay

A Christian Resistance to Civil Government

In “Resistance to Civil Government”, Henry David Thoreau writes his opinions on the state of the very powerful United States government in an effort to persuade readers to separate themselves from said government. Thoreau’s actions taken against the government could possibly be seen again in the foreseeable future from a Christian’s standpoint. However, as a Christian, I would use an alternate process to resist civil government than Thoreau’s. As a Christian, living in a nation that isn’t so much “One Nation Under God” and should now be more accurately coined “One Nation Under Ourselves” is troubling. The civil government has allowed terrible things to occur, including abortion, the legalization of marijuana, and the encouragement of equality and homosexuality. Not only these, but the “free” healthcare given out have its problems, and the nation is in a huge debt. These issues are in need of some Christian action. Now is as good a time as any to start resisting civil government. If Christians lose their voice and input now, Christians will quickly be lost in the crowd. As Thoreau so eloquently put it: “but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine," (NEED IN TEXT). Now is the time to start putting up a fight against a government that is quickly losing its Christian foundations. Thoreau’s methods of resisting civil government may have spoken loudly, but could be seen as impractical. He refused to pay taxes to the government, which landed him in jail for a night. However, someone else always paid his tax for him, which went against what Thoreau was standing up against. In the end, the government won. Based on his success, (or lack thereof), we as Christians should take what Thoreau did and learn by his actions. An alternate method to resisting the civil government would be to place Christians in higher authority. An influx of Christian lawyers or politicians would have a voice in an extremely government centered nation. If more representatives or members of Congress had Christian morals and values, then more votes could be placed against pro-abortion laws and pro-same marriage laws. Another way to make the Christian voice louder in the US would be to have Christians serve others. Placing the same emphasis on national missions as we do on international missions would be beneficial to the US. The need for Christ in the US is just as big as Christ is needed in another country. Especially since the US is considered to be a powerhouse country who influences other countries in the world. If the US isn’t showing Christian fruits, then how will the US influence other countries in a positive, Christ like way? To conclude, the times has come for Christians to take what Thoreau acted upon and apply it to the current civil government. The present day US government has taken God out of the picture, and has placed laws that dishonor God’s law. As Christians, we should place people in government that will voice God’s truth, and even more importantly, we should show Christ’s love in action, by serving the US as much as we do other countries. With these methods, and with God’s promise to come through in the end, we can resist a government that is trying to erase “One Nation Under God” with hopes to build a God-fearing nation once again.